Monday 1 October 2012 09.56 EDT
First published on Monday 1 October 2012 09.56 EDT

The former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has defied a court order forbidding him from leaving the capital, Malé, after his trial on charges for abuse of power was postponed.

Nasheed, who resigned from office in February, later claiming he was forced to do so, is accused of illegally arresting a senior judge. Nasheed's trial was scheduled to start on Monday, but he said proceedings were cancelled without explanation.

The former president, who claims the charges are politically motivated, took advantage of the postponement to head to Maldives' southern islands to campaign, despite the travel ban imposed last week. "We have freedom of movement and there is nothing wrong [in what I are doing]," he told the Guardian.

He added that if police were to him it would backfire on the government led by Mohammed Waheed Hassan. "It would be folly for them to do that to a presidential candidate. If I cannot campaign, it says a lot about democracy."

The presidential election is scheduled for November next year but Nasheed says there should be an early poll to "restore democracy".

He described his impending trial as "trumped up charges in a kangaroo court", motivated not by justice but to "get at my head". Nasheed said he had not given the order for the judge to be arrested, adding that the decision was "within the bounds of the constitution".

He said: "To serve national security and have confidence in the judiciary we had to remove some very, very unreasonable people who were trying to defend the previous regime and work for their own interests."